Passing His Guard

She glanced at him beneath her long, dark lashes. Her top lip twitched as if a small smile were threatening to make an appearance. Was she seriously teasing him back? Honestly, if Rya

Did that mean when this was all said and done, he wasn’t going to fuck her over? No, but he wasn’t going to enjoy it half as much as he’d pla

The distant whir of sirens grew louder. “I think the police are here.” It was with more reluctance than Aiden wanted to admit that he let her go and took a step back. “You don’t have to stay in here,” he told her again, knowing that in about two minutes this place was going to explode into chaos. He wanted to protect her from any further trauma, but in stubborn Rya

“I want to stay with you.”

The siren outside abruptly cut off, and red, white, and blue lights strobed through the store window. Several car doors slammed outside, and before he could warn her, the front door flew open and four officers stormed inside.

“Get on the ground! Get on the ground!”

Aiden raised his hands and locked them behind his head as he knelt on the ground. An overzealous cop charged over to him and helped him the rest of the way by slamming his chest into the floor. And for the second time in as many hours, Aiden found himself in cuffs again.

“What are you doing?” Rya

It wasn’t anything Aiden didn’t expect to happen. He didn’t exactly look like he was out selling Girl Scout cookies. And these officers had no idea what they were walking into. For all they knew, he was the shooter. But if Quick Draw McGraw here didn’t get his booted heel off Aiden’s spine in the next two seconds, he was going to get pissed.

The three other officers swept the aisles, guns drawn, calling out their findings. “Clear! Clear! Clear! Three men down! All clear! Medic!”

Rya

Apparently, Rya

“Are you all right?”

He craned his neck to look up at her. Her brows were drawn tight with concern. “I’m swell. I get off on being cuffed, so this is actually working for me.”

Rya

“Always.”

The cops had the other three men on their feet, each shoved against a section of the cooler as they were cuffed and read their Miranda rights. Quick Draw called out that their victim was DOA. When he came back over, the officer began hammering Aiden and Rya

“You mean to tell me you took all three of these men down, by yourself?” The officer asked Aiden, looking skeptical.

“He’s an MMA fighter,” Rya

If he didn’t know better, he’d swear there was a hint of pride in her voice. Could it be possible that this woman actually approved of what he did for a living? And why did the idea of Rya

“Is that right?” Quick Draw asked. His assessing gaze held no such appreciation for the sport. He’d yet to remove the cuffs, and thanks to Rya

His arms were sleeved in gray-wash tats, his ears were pierced, and his brow was studded. He wore a steel hoop through his bottom lip, and a balled bar through his tongue. The first thing he’d done after moving to Vegas was wipe away any remnant of Sen. Be

“Yes, that’s so,” she answered for him.

Both he and the officer shot her an a

“Would you please remove these cuffs from my boyfriend?”

She’d gotten pissed at the officer’s less than gentle treatment of him and apparently wasn’t going to be happy until they uncuffed him. What spurred her sudden protective streak he couldn’t know, but it was certainly an unexpected response. Aiden wasn’t used to having anyone fight for him—ever. And seeing this adorable pixie standing up to a room full of officers and making demands she had no business tossing about was not only charming but it made something in his chest cramp and his heart warm uncomfortably.

The officer’s brow shot up at her demand. As if to prove her claim on him, Rya

“Rya

“Do you have any ID on you?” Quick Draw cut in impatiently.

“My back pocket.”

Rya

“Long way from Vegas,” the officer commented. “Where did you say you were going?”

“I didn’t.”

Rya

The officer nodded. “I’ll be right back.” He turned and headed out to his car to run Aiden’s license.

“Why are you being so difficult?” she hissed under her breath.

“Why did you tell him I was your boyfriend?” he asked, ignoring her question.

Rya

“You think my credibility is lacking?” he asked, arching his pierced brow, half teasing, half serious.

Her eyes shot up to his, uncertainty pinching her brows as she studied him. “Of course not. I don’t, but you’ll probably have a little more trouble convincing them.” She nodded toward the officers by the cooler. “Besides, what do you think I’m going to tell them?—that I abducted you from the Embassy Suites in Mi